Chasing Shadows
by BetterKnifeNinja
Summary: A mysterious thief goes around searching for heists to test her skills on. All the while dodging the authorities and making new friends. Please review, I want to know if I should write more


"Things don't always go our way in life, I say why sulk over what has happened, when its already behind you?"

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Prologue:

_I don't know who may be reading this. But I am mortally wounded.. And in case I do not survive, I will tell you something none know the full extent of. Bits and pieces are scattered among the minds of people I have met, but only I hold the full story. My life..._

I started out in a small village living with my maternal twin brother and mother. On October 6, my 5th birthday, our village was attacked by a group of violent roaming ninjas who had taken a liking to our land. Their plan? To kill everyone who had claim to the land and sell it. Only my brother and myself survived.

My brother and I eventually found a small place to stay, though the old lady who owned the house never knew it was us lurking in the basement. She came to think her house was haunted, with the food and occasional items disappearing. The woman's main claim to the concerned neighbors was the toilet flushing in the middle of the night.

We even befriended a few neighborhood children, though they never knew where we came from.   We were never caught, we had been taught by the best and proved our reputation time and again.

Eventually after a few years we set out to find and destroy all those who had killed our family, friends and clan.   My brother was killed when we where 10 by the same ninja's that destroyed our village.

I was devastated yet again. I grieved for one short night, the next day arose a new person. My life no longer mattered, just my last mission. Duty and honor bound, I had become what all warriors fear, an enemy with nothing to lose.

I decided to train to perfection, finish the education my clan never had the chance to complete. I hunted down several masters of the killing arts, and once I had learned all I could from them, destroyed them to leave no more evidence of my existence.

Then I started stealing for money, at first not realizing the difference between stealth and killing. A dead person was one who could not convey my existence, and both paths were leading down the same road. I could sneak in and grab my prize, leaving no clue. Or just destroy all who would be able to witness or stop me.

I admit, I made a huge mess of things. Drew too much attention, took too many lives. I passed from city to city, leaving behind nothing but a trail of death. Till one night I realized my mistake...

I broke into a house to take several pieces of artwork that I had tracked down. I killed a man, and who I assume to be his wife. Then as I was leaving, my loot in hand, I spotted them. Two small children, clutching each other in a dark corner.

My world was shaken to pieces for the third time in my life. I recognized those looks, had felt them myself not 13 years earlier. I had become them. I'd become the bastards who stole everything I had in life.

Grief stricken I ran, ran till my legs gave out. I collapsed there on the ground. I made myself a promise that night, a promise I should have made from the beginning. I returned the house and found the children right next to their parent's bodies.

I did not try to explain to them, did not say sorry. Nothing I could have done would make up for the crime committed there. I bowed my head and was silent, then left.

Kids... people often underestimate them. But I knew how they felt, knew that the fact I had returned and shown regret would speak more than any apology. I knew because if it had been done in my presence, my brother would still be alive and my heart not nearly so cold.

To this day I keep my promise to myself, I kill with reason and honor the dead, something I wish I'd done from the start. And a certain little boy and girl still find that the bank account they inherited never runs dry. I'm now an assassin, but only accept the job when a life is in danger.

I still a living off of stealing artwork and jewelry. But my biggest change, I decided to abandon my search for the ninjas who killed my family. But the story did not end there. I had many more adventures to frequent... I can only hope my life can be salvaged further...

End Prologue

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The night was warm, quiet, and dark. Perfect for a little stroll.

A black figure, barely recognizable as anything but a shadow, slid through the woods. The figure had a dangerous, deadly feeling to it. It seemed at home here, dodging between the dark trees and blending perfectly in their shadows.

As the figure ran on, a large house came into view. With eight full sized rooms and three stories, this house could have been considered a small mansion. And because of the house's high fences and security guards out front, it would also have made a decent prison.

The figure ran silently, then slowed down as it neared the fence, careful not to be heard by the guards. A grappling hook appeared in the figures hand and before the guards even noticed a movement, the figure was sprinting towards the house.

Getting in the house was simple, thanks to an already open window, keeping the house cool on this warm night. As the figure entered the house, it was illuminated by a small night light.

The figure was obviously female. She stood average height with an obviously athletic build and long blonde hair. She wore mostly black clothes, with a small amount of dark purple showing up every so often around her arms and back. The clothes she wore downplayed her breasts and hips, but still had an attractive figure.

"Well that wasn't so hard.." The woman sighed with relief.

Upon looking around she observed that she'd broken into one of the smaller bedrooms in the house.

Ha! Some small room this was! It comfortably fit a large dresser, king sized bed, and had a plasma screen TV imbedded in one of the walls. It even included its own bathroom.

The woman crept towards the door and opened it silently, listening for any sign of people inside. Once she'd convinced herself that she was alone she exited the room and walked down the hallway to the stairs and up to the second floor.

Thanks to blueprints obtained through one of her many sources, the woman found herself right outside the master bedroom without any unnecessary sound, walking or looking around.

She reached out a hand to open the door.

"Honey? Where did you put the remote?" A distinct male voice rang out.

The woman froze in her tracks, then relaxed once she realized what it was. When she'd been observing the residents in the earlier weeks she had noticed they had a habit of leaving the television on as a way to scare off would-be thieves.

The woman chuckled to herself. "What use is that when you already have guards and dangerous looking fences? Plus most of the country knows your out tonight at the big premiere of your movie…"

She entered the room and quickly got to looking around. Finally she found what she was looking for.

"Ahh there you are." She approached a large jewelry box and wasting no time poured the contents into a slim hardly noticeable backpack made from the same material as her clothes.

She turned around and looked around for anything else that might be holding some interesting jewelry or collectibles. Then, satisfied with her haul, she turned and headed for the same room she'd broken into. No need to leave more clues than needed, and the entrance also made an easy exit.

Once lowered out of the window she dropped to the ground and ducked low into some bushes to be sure no guards had seen her. A shout rang out, then another, and another.

"Guess its safe to say they saw me…" She mumbled, and waited to see if they knew where she was, or just knew someone was there.

The yelling grew closer, and amongst the shouting of orders she decided it was time to get the hell out of there. She tore out of the bushes, taking off towards a large tree on the property, close to the fence. The woman tried not to think about the armed guards no doubt following close behind.

She jumped into the tree with inhuman grace and grabbed the next branch, maneuvering around and up it to her next hold. Only then did she dare to look down to see how much time she had. Unfortunately, not much. The large guards had reached the bottom of the tree, and since their bulk prevented them from climbing the tree they quickly grew upset and drew their pistols.

A gun shot rang out but the bullet bit wood. The woman was close now, a few more branches and she would have the height to clear the fence.

Another shot was fired, this one just grazed her ankle. One more branch…

She leapt out of the tree just as another bullet was well on its way to stopping her escape. Over the fence she flew, then landed hard on the ground. Pain shot up her left leg, but she ignored it and struggled to stand up.

Finally regaining her footing and common sense she took off through the woods again, taking even more care to blend in and remain silent as possible. Only once she was completely exhausted and couldn't run any longer did she rest.

High up in an oak tree, she examined herself for injuries. She was pleased to find only a few scrapes and bruises, the pain from her fall had only been a dull from hitting her leg on a rock.

"Well BKN. Seems you got out of it again." She said with some satisfaction before sighing in relief and laying back to enjoy a few seconds of rest she could afford, before running off into the night to disappear from all except as a mysterious thief in the next days news headlines.


End file.
